Kâğıthane Kızılay Hospital Endocrinology and Metabolism Diseases Specialist. Dr. Mustafa Ünal drew attention to the measures to be taken in the fight against Obesity, a problem that threatens public health. exp. Dr. “The proportion of obese children and adolescents has increased from 4% to 18% worldwide,” Unal said.
Obesity, which has become one of the most important health problems in the world, is the most common and dangerous disease of the modern age. Kâğıthane Kızılay Hospital Endocrinology and Metabolism Diseases Specialist. Dr. Mustafa Ünal, “Overweight and obesity are becoming more common in industrial societies and they are increasing especially in children. Decreased physical activity and availability of high-fat and calorie-rich ready-to-eat foods increase the development of obesity. Many factors also play a role in the development of obesity. These include genetics, insufficient exercise, excessive calorie intake. Some medications are associated with weight gain as a side effect. Psychosocial factors may contribute to the development of obesity.
Proportion of obese children and adolescents increased from 4% to 18% worldwide
According to the data of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2022, the number of individuals diagnosed with obesity has exceeded 1 billion all over the world. exp. Dr. Ünal said, “Obesity is increasing rapidly not only in adults but also in children and young people. “From 1975 to 2016, the proportion of overweight or obese children and adolescents aged 5-19 increased more than fourfold worldwide, from 4% to 18%,” he said. Stating that the most common method used today in diagnosing obesity is body mass index, Uzm. Dr. Ünal said, “Obesity is a chronic disease that brings with it many physical, psychological, social and economic problems. Obesity, Type 2 diabetes mellitus (blood sugar level rises above normal), coronary heart disease, hypertension, cerebrovascular diseases, breathing difficulties, some types of cancer, deep vein thrombosis (blood clot in the vein), It may occur in the stomach and small intestine tract. It also causes diseases such as viruses-bacteria, fatty liver and cirrhosis, high cholesterol, the formation of many small and benign cysts in the ovaries, urinary incontinence, disorders in the lymphatic system, obstructive sleep apnea and calcification in the joints.
As the severity of obesity increases, the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes also increases.
Stating that 2% of type 80 diabetes patients are obese, it causes it to become an important risk factor. Dr. Ünal said, “The risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases as the severity of obesity increases. Hypertension, high cholesterol, and atherosclerotic heart disease are remarkably common in obese and diabetic patients. In addition to these, it has been determined that moderate weight loss reduces the development of new diabetes by 30%. Stating that while deaths from cardiovascular diseases such as stroke (stroke), heart attacks show a decreasing trend in developed western countries, they increase in developing countries and Turkey. Dr. Ünal said, “The increase in the elderly population due to the prolongation of the expected life expectancy of societies has brought along the increase in cardiovascular diseases in the society. What is positive in terms of cardiovascular diseases is that they are largely 'preventable'. the World Health Organization (WHO); reports that the incidence of cardiovascular disease can be halved by controlling blood pressure, obesity, cholesterol and smoking. The death data of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) show that the share of heart diseases in total deaths tends to increase gradually.
Obesity should be prevented
Stating that the population structure of our country is still predominantly young and similar to developing countries, Uzm. Dr. Ünal said, “Education on obesity should be given from childhood, adequate-balanced nutrition and physical activity should be done. For this purpose, efforts should be made to reduce obesity and related diabetes and cardiovascular diseases by gaining basic habits from childhood. exp. Dr. Ünal listed his recommendations for staying healthy and avoiding the risk of cardiovascular disease:
-Eat healthy,
- Do regular physical activity
-Do not use tobacco and tobacco products,
-Do not use alcohol,
-Learn your cardiovascular risk,
- Find out if you are overweight or obese,
- Have your blood pressure measured. Get treatment if you have high blood pressure
- Have your blood sugar measured. Get treatment if you have diabetes.
Have your blood lipids measured. If it's high, get treatment.
- Follow other healthy living recommendations given by your doctor.